I don't think that will be good to do. I'm sure you need to use something other than regular brass.

 

The brass typically needs the grooves for grease. There should be some specs on the ones at the store which will tell you their load Vs rpm ratings. You can use that to judge if it will work.

I'm just going to tell you now, you won't find a size that will fit. The idler body and shaft are odd sizes, not standard in metric or imperial sizes.

I'm working on how I'm (SDORI) going to produce these so that they are affordable and have spent a good deal of money on tooling just to make prototypes.

I also want to echo the issue of play, you can't have any. It has to fit like a tight glove or the loads and vibrations will hog out the inner diameter.

Frank

 

Is everybody still happy with these. I just found out from the alignment guy I need a new idler and Pittman arm. I am assuming the bushings are all that is bad. He said there is too much play. I am thinking I will just send my idler arm to these guys and let them figure out the fitment. I cant be with out this arm too long it's my daily driver. Sending parts back and forth for weeks isn't an option.

 

I'm happy - mine still seems to be nice and tight!

 

You might ask your mechanic if the play is in the shaft or the ball joint. It's most always in the shaft in which case you can get new bushings. That he said you need a pitman arm too though suggests the ball joints have worn out in which case you would in fact need a new idler arm assembly.

Unfortunately, I'm not ready to ship parts yet, I'm still doing some final testing. That said initially we'll be supporting the higher end Napa idler. You will be able to swap bushings should you need to purchase a new idler

I'm also looking into the Duralast idler (McQuay-Norris) that Autozone sells as a more affordable option. It has a large diameter shaft.

We are closed until the 5th though so I won't be doing any more development work until January.

Frank

 

mine are still good. if you read back though, i was one of the few that had to do my own tooling to make it fit on my idler shaft.

i have had mechs tell me and my room mate (also a '94 runner) that we need new idler arms etc... like Frank suggested, make SURE what the problem is...... for some reason the "professionals" seem to be a little confused about what the actual issue is. i just don't want you to spend more than you need to on parts that are fine.
good luck!

 

I called up to the place that makes these. I think I am going to send him mine and let him make everything fit.
The mechanic did say that the idler was loose and the ball joint on the pittman arm was loose, adn both parts needed to be replaced. I saw on downeys site that they sell pittman arms and there is no ball joint in htere. Is this something I can replace with out replacing the whole pittman arm? Honestly i havent searched these questions beyond searching this old thread, but the people on this thread all seem to have been down this road already, so straight from the horses mouth so to speak.

 

Well, there is a tie rod end that goes into the pitman arm .... not a balljoint. The balljoints are big things that bolt to the spindle itself.

Usually, you can see which parts are loose if you jiggle the steering components (ok, it might take a bit more than a "jiggle") and see where the play is.

 

Well to dispel confusion let's call ball joints those that connect the spindle to the a-arms. Let's call the pitman ball joint a pitman ball joint and similar.

The idler and pitman arms have joints which are technically ball joints that connect to the relay rod. The idler also has plastic bushings in which it pivots. The pitman arm has bearings within the steering gear in which it pivots.

Idler arm bushings go bad often. Pitman arm ball joints almost never go bad and the same can be said for the idler arm ball joint.

I would grab the relay rod and try to shake it. You'll see very quickly if the pitman arm ball joint is bad. If it is, certainly replace it and in that case the idler is likely bad too. Keep in mind that it is normal for the relay rod to pivot, but there should be no discernible play.

Frank

 

there is some play most notably in the idler arm. I really don't see it in the pitman but I will defer to his judgement.

 

So IF my mechanic is correct and the "ball joint" (tie rod end is bad in the pitman arm, then I can just replace the tie rod end in the pitman arm, I don't need to replace the entire pitman arm?
Does it use a special tie rod end? How can I find the correct one?
I have done some searching, and all I found for after market beefy stuff is for high steer and SAS and all that stuff. I don't have the time or desire for a sas right now, let alone the cash.
I know the easiest would be to order a pitman arm, but if a beefy tie rod end or something similar would work better, much like these bronze bushings are better than the poly oem bushings, I would rather do that. I don't want to buy another crappy oem pitman arm just to have to replace in in a month and get another alignment.
My real goal is to get everything done right so I can take it out and wheel, not live in the shop.

 

Well I got the idler arm and pitman arm shipped off to custom machining today. That way they can make bushings that fit that application perfectly. the shaft that goes into the idler arm appears to be permanently attached to the pitman arm so I sent both pieces. he said he would take a look a the tie rod end of the pitman arm and see if there was any thing that could be done to repair it or if it even needs repair.
If nothing else he will have the specs on an idler arm set up for a 92 reg cab dlx v6 4x4 (US built). A Lot of stuff seems to be different on the US built trucks. My EGR valve did not have any sensors to jumper with a resistor as others have mentioned. When I installed my headers I blocked off the EGR and reed valves and did not reattach them and I am not throwing any cel's. Odd because prior to doing that I was constantly throwing cel's. Oh well who knows.
i do hope this fixes my alignment issue.

 

Did you measure the idler shaft? If it is worn more on the lower part than the top, which is typical, you won't be able to use these bushings. The one that fits over the top will fit loosely on the bottom.

Also, what bushing are you making for the pitman?

Frank

 

Just wanted an update on this thread. I checked the link that the OP posted and didn't see the brass idler arms. I also wanted to check to see if SDORI actually maybe started to produce something? I am reading a couple of you are having issues with the fitment and I am not lucky enough to have a machine shop nearby. Also not sure if I can send my arm out for a week or so since this is my DD.

 

BoostinChick, glad you posted up about this.

I have two designs in test. In fact I'm about to see if some people would like to help out with this to accelerate it.

Right now I'm working on bushings for the Napa high end idler and the Duralast (Autozone) idler. The Duralast has the largest shaft diameter at this point and is only $75.

Since these are wear parts it takes a while to understand and ensure their longevity.

Frank

 

I still have the stock idler arm...so does this mean I will have to wait?

 

I ended sending my arm off because I needed a fix right away. The alignment shop would not do an alignment with the idler arm being bad. I had just put on the SDORI bj spacers nad badly needed an alignment.
Anyway, the arm got there and they said the shaft was so pitted that they could not get a good fit. I ended having them get an after market arm for $75 and put the bushings in there. Hopefully it is a permanent fix. I did request they get the beefier arm, so it took them a couple of trys with the parts store to get the right part. anyway, they sent me both arms back. if some one wants to try to salvage the other arm, I would donate it for the cost of shipping, but I am guessing it may be useless. The machine shop seemed to think so.

 

Actually, I hate to say it but you will almost certainly have to buy a new one.

Here's the problem with old arms. They wear more on the bottom than on the top. This means a bushing that fits properly on the bottom of the shaft just won't fit over the top.

We had considered custom machining but decided against it. There are other issues like shipping costs (customer idlers) and warranty support. When you make one-offs it's very expensive no matter what. If you chose to warranty the part, you are again shipping an idler arm for a second time, making a new set.... etc... Heaven forbid if an idler gets lost in transit... To do custom bushings profitably you'd have to charge a lot of money for them. Or, you simply don't offer a warranty at all. Neither is really an optimal solution.

Frank

 

Frank, which one am I testing right now, the Duralast or Napa?

 

You have the Duralast. That's the stronger less expensive one.

Frank